World Heritage Centre and Turismo de Portugal cooperate on Tourism Management at World Heritage sites

In June 2011 UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre and Turismo de Portugal, the Portuguese Tourism Authority, signed an agreement engaging in a cooperation project on capacity-building for tourism management in World Heritage sites of Portuguese origin. This project is an integral part of the continuous cooperation that is being carried out by the World Heritage Centre and Portugal, represented in this project by its National Commission.

World Heritage sites, both natural and cultural, are often faced with uncontrolled tourism and related infrastructure. Taking into account the capacity-building strategy adopted by the World Heritage Committee at its recent 35th session (June 2011) and the ongoing programming work on World Heritage sustainable tourism, this joint project is designed to enhance a shared understanding of how the conservation of each site’s Outstanding Universal Value and socio-economic needs can be addressed and sustainably managed.

Building upon the network of World Heritage sites of Portuguese Origin (WHPO) the initiative involves site managers and experts from over 14 countries worldwide, including Portugal, Brazil, India and Mozambique. The training workshops will be complemented by concrete experiences from those World Heritage sites that host the workshops.